Do birds prefer expensive bird seeds, or cheap bird seeds?
Introduction
I chose this question, because many people tend to like expensive food more then cheap food. I wondered if birds were the same way? I bought cheap, and expensive bird food to put in my bird feeder, and see how much was eaten by the end of the week (7 days.)
Hypothesis
I think that the birds will like the expensive bird seed more, because it might have better quality.
Variables
My independent variable is the expensive, and cheap bird food
My dependent variable is the amount of food they eat in the course of one week.
My control variable is the bird feeder, and the time of week I put the bird food in the feeder.
Methods and Materials
The materials I'm using is a bird feeder, cheap and expensive bird seeds. I'm keeping the bird feeder in the same location so the results would be more accurate.
I’m filling my bird feeder to the top, (9 cups) and by the end of the week, I measure how much bird seeds there are left.
Results/Conclusion
The birds liked the cheap bird seed way better then the expensive bird seeds. This surprised me, because I thought the expensive seeds would be a better quality, and/or taste. I think what happened was, I've used the cheap bird seed for a while, and I'm sure the birds were used to it so they ate more of it. I think if I used a cheap bird seed that I didn't use for multiple years, the results would have been different.
Type of seed: What bird eats the seed:
Sunflower Seeds
All birds that eat seeds
Safflower Seeds
Cardinals, grosbeaks, chickadees, doves, and native sparrows
Nyjer Seeds
American Goldfinches, Lesser Goldfinches, Indigo Buntings, Pine Siskins, and Common Redpolls
White Millet
Quails, native American sparrows, doves, towhees, juncos, and cardinals
Do birds prefer expensive bird seeds, or cheap bird seeds?
Introduction
Hypothesis
Variables
Methods and Materials
Results/Conclusion
The birds liked the cheap bird seed way better then the expensive bird seeds. This surprised me, because I thought the expensive seeds would be a better quality, and/or taste. I think what happened was, I've used the cheap bird seed for a while, and I'm sure the birds were used to it so they ate more of it. I think if I used a cheap bird seed that I didn't use for multiple years, the results would have been different.
Type of seed: What bird eats the seed: